Door-latch



v No. 627,2I3. Patented lune 20, I899.

H. W. STEEGE.

DOOR LATCH.

(Application filed Nov. 30, 1898.)

(No Model.)

Nrrnn STATES HENRY W. STEEGE,

OF KNITTEL, IOWA.

DOOR-LATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters liatent No. 627,213, dated June 20, 1899 Applicationfiled November 30, 1898. Serial No. 697,879. (No model.)

To all whom, it flea/y cmwcrn:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. STEEGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Knittel, in the county of Bremer and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Door- Latch, of which the following is a specifica tion.

This invention relates to gate or door latches, and has for its object to provide a latch for holding the door in either open or closed position and which may be operated from either side of the door.

To this end the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a portion of a door in closed position and having the latch applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a transverse horizontal sectional view taken through the door, showing the latch in elevation. Fig. 8 is a similar view with the door latched in open position. Fig. 4 isa detail perspective view of the oscillating latch detached. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken vertically through the door at the opening 7.

Corresponding parts are denoted by like reference characters in all the figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates an ordinary form of door hinged to the door-- frame 2 in the usual manner.

The oscillating latch is shown in detail in Fig. 4 as formed from a single length of metal bent or formed into au'operating loop or bail 3, alined bearing-arms 4:, a hooked operating thumb-piece 5 at one extremity, and a latch arm 6 at the other end thereof. It will be noted that the several parts of this oscillat-,

t the outside of the door, as shown in Fig. 5,

and the thumb-piece 5 is passed through this opening from the inside of the door, with the latch-arm 6 extending across the notch 8. Suitable straps 9 are secured to the inner face of the door, embracing the respective bearing-arms '4, and thereby mounting the oscillating latch upon the door. A stationary keeper 10, of common form, is provided upon the door-jamb 11. and adapted to cooperate with the movable latch-arm 6 to latch. the door in closed position, as. shown in Fig. 4. The door may be unlatched from the inside by pressing downward upon the bail 3 or by pressing upward upon the thumb-piece 5 upon the outside of the door.

.To hold the latch engaged with the catch 10, a spring 12 is coiled about the inner side of the loop 3 at one end and extends across the-face of the door a suitable distance, is then bent at approximately right angles at its other end, and is secured to the door. This spring thus has a torsional action upon the oscillating latch with a tendency to throw the loop upward after being depressed to insure a positive engagement of the latch-arm with the stationary catch 10.

A keeper 13, having its head or shoulder extending downward, is provided in the wall at the hinged side of the door and at a suitable distance therefrom, with which the loop 3 is adapted to engage when the door is thrown wide open and hold the same in open position. The door may be released from this position by means of the thumb-piece 5.

By the construction and arrangement as herein set forth the present invention is composed of few parts, substantially mounted in position, will effectively latch the door in either open or closed position, and is capable of being readily unlatched from either position and from either side of the door.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is- 1. An oscillating latch, comprising an operating-bail pivoted at opposite ends thereof, alatch-arm provided upon one end of the bail and extending upon the opposite side of the pivotal line thereof, and a keeper for the latcharin, substantially as shown and described.

of the bail, 1 he latter having its opposite sides 5 pivoted intermediate of the ends thereof, and the latch-arm being adapted to extend through an opening in the door and capable of an oscillating movement, whereby the latch maybe operated from either side of the door, substanlially as shown and described.

3. An oscillatinglatch for gates and doors,

com prising an operating-bail, longitndinallyalined pivotal hearing-arms provided at opposite ends of the bail, a latch-arm carried at the free end of one of said bearing arms, and extending transversely thereof, and bearings for the respective bearing-arms, substantially as shown and described.

4. An oscillating latch made from a single length of material in the form of a bail having bearing-arms extending in thesame direction and at right angles to the respective ends of the bail and in the same plane therewith, a

thumb-piece and a latch-arm each extending from and at right angles to the respective bearing-arms in the same plane with the bail and upon the opposite side of the pivotal line thereof, and bearings for the bearing-arms,

substantially'as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY W. sTEEGEl Witnesses:

JOHN M. HAZLETT, W. WEIDITsC KA. 

